Is the US ready to loosen its grip on ICANN?

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 29 Sep 2009 at 08:13

US control of ICANN could be loosened this week, as the organisation hammers out a new deal with the US government.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was established by the US government in 1998 and tasked with overseeing the top-level domain names such as .com and co.uk that identify websites.

Since then it has operated under the watchful eye of the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration, however, that arrangement expires Thursday and EU executives have called for ICANN to be freed of US control.

"The US government is the only body to have had formal oversight of ICANN's policies and activities since its inception in 1998," says the EU.

The Commission believes that ICANN should become universally accountable, not just to one government but to the global internet community

"The Commission believes that ICANN should become universally accountable, not just to one government but to the global internet community. This is particularly relevant given that the next billion of internet users will mainly come from the developing world," it concludes.

The US government hasn't given away any details of its plans for ICANN, however, the organisation's chief executive Rod Beckstrom has previously claimed that he would like to continue a "long term, formal relationship with the United States Government."

To that end, speculation has suggested that a panel of foreign representatives may be put in place, charged with conducting regular reviews of ICANN's work.

The changes come as ICANN investigates easing the rules on generic top-level domains, will allow users to create any domain they wish within 64 characters. This would probably see companies such as Coca Cola registering the .cola domain, for example.

The plans are currently under review as ICANN determines whether there's enough space on the Domain Name Servers to handle the potential influx, the cost of registration and the potential market impact.